


the best story that I could ever tell

by thisdorkyficthing



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Srsly so Fluff, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bc Author Loves Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9314699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisdorkyficthing/pseuds/thisdorkyficthing
Summary: It started when they were boys. Thor was fifteen and Loki was, well, somewhere right around there.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I've been poking around with for months, and I finally just decided to finish it up, and unleash some Sweetness. 
> 
> Inspired heavily by [this adorable song](https://youtu.be/D25iMQeVzfY) and about halfway through I realized it had some serious Big Fish vibes, so there's that too.
> 
> Enjoy!

It started when they were boys. Thor was fifteen and Loki was, well, somewhere right around there.

Loki had a appeared on the grounds of the castle on the morning of prince Thor’s birthday, somehow managing to sneak past the many guards that permeated the small kingdom. Thor found him up in one of the royal family’s apple trees, lazing upon one of the branches and sinking his sharp teeth in what appeared to be, given how many cores laid discarded on the ground below, his forth apple.

“Excuse me? Why are you in my apple tree?” Thor called up, utterly bewildered and intrigued by this stranger.

Loki looked down at him, furrowing his dark brows at the prince and then looking at the tree, and then the apple in his hand. “I had not realized the tree was owned by anyone since there is no name on it, my apologies there.” And then he looked away and crunched in to the apple once more.

“But... what are you doing up there?”

Loki looked down at him, cheek stuffed, and scoffed as though Thor was a fool for asking such a question. “I’m _eating_ ,” he answered, waving the half-eaten apple at Thor.

_Well,_ intriguing or not, Thor did not take well to being condescended to, and made to show that. Chest puffed out and hand on his hips, he forced his still-occasionally-cracking voice to go as deep as it could. “How dare you speak to your prince in such a manner.”

Loki snorted. “I guess it’s good that you’re not _my_ prince then, is it?”

Thor’s fingers dug in to the flesh of his own hips as he tried to control the anger boiling in him at the the stranger’s insolence.

“Get down here so we may speak face-to-face,” Thor ground out.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed, dropping the rest of his apple to the ground and giving the thick branch he relaxed on a fond pat before jumping off.

Finally able to get a good look at the young fellow, Thor found himself startled by how taken he was with him. The stranger had a charming sort of ruddiness to his pale complexion, the sun leaving spots along the tops of gently rounded cheeks and across the elegant bridge of his nose. A mop of raven black hair danced around his face with the gentle breeze. And he looked back at Thor with wide, jade-green eyes that gave him a look that was all to innocent for the smirk formed by his red lips.

Thor had to look away from his face, finding something in it that stirred all too new feelings within him, ones that made him feel weak in his legs and made his heart stammer. And that's when he noticed his clothing; It was far from the style the people of his small kingdom wore, and tattered beyond what anyone would wear, as well. His father kept careful control of the wealth distribution among his people, making sure no one faced insurmountable troubles.

“Who are you?” Thor asked, finally, eyes venturing up to the stranger’s charming face again.

“I am known as Loki,” he replied, voice soft, his tone no longer abrasive. He’d been taking his fill of Thor as well, finding his gold-brushed skin and hair quite breath-taking when paired with those striking sky blue eyes of his. He was saturated in color, all golden and red with his finely made tunic. It almost hurt to look at him.

But those eyes had brought him back in, piercing him with their color, filling him with a warmth like the sun’s as he continued to look upon Loki.

“I am Thor,” the prince said.

Loki let out a small “ _ah_ ,” his tongue having gone and twisted itself in to knots upon looking at Thor’s face.

“Where are you from?” Thor asked with a whisper, feeling though he was under a spell that might break should he not tread softly.

Loki stammered, the words that usually came easily from his tongue getting lost in the jumble. “N-nowhere in particular.”

Thor quirked his head at that, the concept foreign to him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I am from nowhere,” Loki snapped out, feeling suddenly raw and exposed by such a silly question. “I am a bastard orphan who was left at someone’s doorstep with nothing but a name, passed from hand to hand until I was able to fend for myself.”

Thor was taken aback, face falling to an sympathetic frown. “Oh, I am sorry, I did not mean to offend.”

Loki’s shoulders were stiff, shocked at his own bitter admission. “It is what it is,” Loki said, turning away so he might not feel Thor’s eyes on him so keenly.

“Is that why you are here? Are you in need of a place to stay?” Thor asked, catching Loki by a thin upper arm. “Because surely my parents will see that you are accommodated, you can even come to the feast we are having for my birthday tonight!”

Loki looked back at Thor in utter shock. “You’d take in a trespasser?”

Thor shrugged a shoulder, giving Loki a charming half-smile. “Should that trespasser be in need of a place to stay, yes.”

Loki looked around, at the high brick walls that surrounded the entire kingdom, the clear and benign sky above(so like Thor’s eyes...). Part of him screamed for him to say yes, yearning for the chance to finally have a place somewhere. But the rest called for more. He’d never been surrounded by walls, always able to leave on a whim and with the breeze. He still had things he wanted to see and experience. There were adventures to be had.

He can’t have adventure with stability.

“Thor,” the name rolled over Loki’s tongue with ease, like it was always meant to be there, “have you ever been outside this kingdom?”

Thor stuttered, blinking owlishly at him. “Well, once when I was small I went with my parents-”

That would simply not do. Not for right now, at least.

“Would you be willing to hold on to that offer?”

Thor’s brow flickered in to a thoughtful frown, shifting from foot to foot. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, if I were to come back in ten years, would you still have me?”

The phrasing was strange, and both boys squirmed at what it implied. Butterflies seemed to be multiplying in their bellies at an astonishing rate.

“But- I mean, yes- But-” Thor stammered, cheeks flushing with the most darling shade of pink Loki had ever seen. “But what if you lose track of time? Or you just forget?”

Loki thought on that.

“You say it’s your birthday today?” he asked.

Thor looked confused by the sudden change in direction. “Yes.”

Loki looked back at Thor. His prince, his mind supplied. His Thor. His belly fluttered still as he met those lovely eyes.

“How about this, dear Thor,” Loki took Thor’s hands in his own, feeling the shape of them and their warmth, enjoying how they fit together so perfectly, “I shall come back to your kingdom every year on your birthday, and bring you a most extravagant gift, something befitting your loveliness, until I am ready and deserving of such a kind offer.”

Thor laughed, his expression flustered. “But... what if you’re too far? How will you remember the date?”

Loki reached up, caressing a cheek with the backs of his knuckles. “You’ll just have to take my word.”

Thor was still troubled, unable to see how the feat could be managed by anyone.

Loki thought of something, grabbing the old dagger that he hid in his belt and rolling up his sleeve.

Thor’s eyes went wide. “What are you doing!?”

“Tell me the date and I shall cut it into my arm, so I’ll always have something to remind me of it.”

“You cannot be serious!”

Loki shook his arms. “Do I look like I am joking?”

Thor stared at him for the longest moment, deciding this was the most intriguing and craziest person he’d ever met.

“It is September 21.”

Loki smiled, working hard to remember how to write his numbers and then methodically slashing it in to his skin. Thor cringed at the sight of the pale skin on the underside of Loki’s forearm giving way to the sharp tip of the blade, glade to see the deed was done in moments.

“See? No way to forget that.”

“You’re bleeding.”

“Well, that _was_ sort of the point.”

“What if you fall ill from it? Can I get you a bandage at least?”

“I’ve survived much worse, my prince, I like to think I can survive a few cuts.”

“Very well,” Thor said, reluctantly letting the issue go. “How long?”

Loki looked away from Thor’s lips. “Hm?”

“How long until you will stay here?”

Loki worried his lip as he thought it over. Thor watched the movement raptly.

“How old will you be in ten years?”

“Twenty-five.”

Loki nodded, pleased. “So will I, I think.”

“So, you will come back and stay on my twenty-fifth birthday?”

“I will.”

Thor beamed.

“You promise you will still have a place for me inside your kingdom?”

Loki was startled when Thor suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him in close and clasping their hands together between their chests. Their hearts beat gently on to the backs of each others hands. Thor held Loki’s gaze with an intensity unlike any other. It felt like as though the air became more charged around them, something connecting them through their entwined hands and eyes.

“I swear, Loki, my kingdom shall always have a place for you.”

It felt as though there was something weaving it’s way through Loki’s chest, binding him to Thor in some invisible way. It was warm and forgiving, like a hug. He welcomed it.

He squeezed Thor’s hand at let out the breath he’d been holding with a tremble.

Thor closed his eyes and pressed their foreheads together. It felt like a spell.

Maybe it _was_ a spell.

 

* * *

 

Thor had been waiting all day, his hope dwindling the later it got.

Then Loki came bursting through the doors of the grand dining hall just as dessert was being served.

He was a taller, though still a bit under Thor’s height, and wearing dark leggings and a billowy tunic that exposed a great deal of his lean chest. His hair had gotten longer, along with Thor’s, the black waves pulled in to a tight bun on the back of his head, exposing his sharpened and sun drenched features.

Thor beamed as his people watched on in confusion as the boy climbed upon one of the long tables, nimbly skipping over all the food and drink scattered across it.

“My dearest prince,” Loki said with a dramatic bow as he made it to the edge of the table to stand before Thor and his dumbfounded parents, “I hope that you have missed me.”

Thor laughed, happiness overwhelming him. He wished to get up and greet Loki physically, but then he’d have to take his eyes off him.

“I guess you must be wondering what has kept me occupied for the year, right?

Thor nodded, looking delirious.

Loki leaned in as though to speak to Thor alone, though his voice carried through the large room. “I’ve been mucking about with pirates.”

The room gasped, they had only ever heard the stories, how terrible and ruthless they were, caring only about riches and violence.

Thor felt their shock as well, looking over Loki again.

“I befriended a captain when I was working for scraps at a pub near some docks. A big, intimidating fellow. Missing a hand. And an eye. And a leg. He said he liked my jokes and offered me a position as a cabin boy on his ship.”

Loki leaned over, looking at one of the towns people and whispering, “since the one he had before had been killed for being a traitor.”

“So, I scrubbed bows and starboards and whatever else there is on ships-”

He leaned over to speak to the same man again. “Truthfully, I did not pay much attention to the names of things.”

“And I befriended the first mate, and the rest of the crew, I made myself one of their own.”

“And we found the most amazing treasure. You would hardly believe your eyes if you saw it yourself. So much gold and jewels that we had to take many trips to get it all.”

The room was still and quiet, enraptured by the young man speaking.

Loki sighed, some of his bravado falling away. He only looked at Thor, eyes apologetic. “Then, we were attacked by a rival ship, and all of it was lost.”

Thor’s heart clenched.

“I was thrown from the ship and woke up floating in the middle of the ocean on a piece of driftwood, I have no idea how the rest fared, and little idea how I managed to survive, myself.

Loki kept his gaze locked on to Thor’s, gracefully stepping down from the table to walk closer to Thor’s. “I spent days- perhaps weeks- swimming aimlessly for land that I was not sure would ever appear. The only thing that kept me going when I thought about giving up was you- our dear prince Thor- knowing that you’d be here, waiting for me. I could not stand the thought of not keeping my word to you.”

Thor’s heart swelled. The people gasped and swooned in equal measure. Many still were not sure what to make of the situation, but wanted to watch where it went.

A small smile fluttered across Loki’s face. “A merchant ship finally happened across me, and they rescued me and brought me to land. Since then I’ve been making my way back to you.

“Loki,” Thor sighed, reaching forward, yearning to feel Loki’s hands in his.

Loki’s shoulders relaxed, relief at still being welcomed, relief at being near Thor once more. He placed his hands in Thor's, the both of them shuddering with relief. Loki’s heart squeezed tight with the happiness. And how Thor’s smile shined.

“I have found my way back to the finest treasure of all,” Loki whispered, these words meant for Thor’s ears only.

Thor laughed, blushing sweetly and squeezing Loki’s hands. “I have counted down the days since last year,” he said, eyes darting away shyly.

The king and queen watched their son and this young stranger, falling in love with him right before their eyes.

The queen was the first to break the silence, clearing her throat and offering a kind, knowing smile to the two blushing boys beside her.

“Perhaps you will stay for dessert?”

 

“Do you believe me?” Loki asked as they sat under the tree they met at the year before, crunching in to the firm, tangy flesh of apples and stared at the night sky through the leaves.

“Does it matter? I liked the story either way,” Thor answers with a shrug. “You have a real way with words, you know, my father cannot capture our people’s attention like you did.”

Loki smiled at the moon.

“I really did have a beautiful gift for you,” he said softly, “an amulet with the brightest ruby you’ve ever seen, it would’ve been quite befitting on you.”

Loki looked down as he felt Thor’s hand come to rest upon his own. “I’m sure it would have, but truly, I am just glad to have you here.”

 

* * *

 

“-you should have seen their hounds! Each one was bigger than your cattle! And the trees grew so high up that they disappeared in to the clouds! And the wood that came from them was harder than stone!”

Thor sat in his seat, mesmerized by Loki’s performance, every gesture big and broad as he spoke of his time living with giants in a place called The Great Woods.

“They taught me wood-working while I was there, and I had made our dear prince a beautiful, ornate box, so he could keep his most prized possessions safe within it.”

Thor smiled, waiting for what was coming next.

“And then, of course, I got robbed- honestly, who steals a _box?_ ”

 

* * *

 

“-for such small things, faeries sure do know how to drink-”

 

* * *

 

Thor's face was hot, holding a hand up to shield his face from his parents. Loki had happened upon a large clan of mermaids after getting lost at sea once again, and was regaling him and his people with _every_ raunchy detail.

“I have learned much from them,” Loki said, chest puffed out, cheeks pink. He winked at Thor, leaning in. “Many of which I plan on showing you someday, dear Thor.”

 

* * *

 

Thor felt his eyebrows rise in shock at the state of Loki as he strolled in to the celebration, his clothes all in black and singed around the edges, his hair shorter and wilder than he’d ever seen it.

“I met Death himself. Herself?” Loki waved a hand dismissively. “Honestly, it’s impossible to tell with that robe, and either way, they’re _terrible_ at chess.”

 

* * *

 

Their tree had grown taller and broader, as they had. Thor’s not sure how he missed that.

They came to a stop beneath it and Thor hoisted himself up on one of it’s lower branches to pluck a few ripe apples from it. He handed one to Loki and they sat down side-by-side as they always did.

This birthday weighed heavy on Thor in a way none of the others ever had. Loki had been the lone bright spot in it, bringing a smile to his face as he regaled the hall with the story of how he’d come upon a wayward star and helped her find her way back to the proper portion of sky.

Though now, knowing Loki would be gone once more in mere hours, he could no longer muster even a hint of a smile.

“You will make a wonderful king, you know.”

Thor let his breath out with a whoosh, tears welling up and rolling past his lashes. “You sound very sure of that.”

Loki laughed, low and smooth. “Well, I have passed through many, many kingdoms in my time, I feel I may have a little knowledge on the subject.”

“I guess you would,” Thor said with a shadow of a smile.

Thor looked down at the apple in his hands, running his hand over the smooth skin, blushing with reddish-pink and gold. He looked back up as Loki caressed his cheek with the back of his hand, heart stuttering with the way Loki looked at him.

“You want to know how I know you will make the most wonderful ruler in all these lands?”

“How?” he chuckled.

Loki tucked a lock of hair behind Thor’s ear. “You will be the only one who could ever keep me.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you believe me?” Loki asked as the sat beneath their tree once again, the moon sitting full and heavy in the sky, lighting the grounds of the palace with it’s cool, soft light. He looked at their entwined hands, noticing how sturdy and large Thor’s had become. he was fascinated, tracing the small bones and precious, delicate veins that crawled under the skin like tiny, life-filled vines. He’d seen so many wondrous things... yet somehow this pair of hands, this person beside him, always brought him the most awe.

Thor let out a soft snort of laughter. “Do I believe a witch tried to curse you and your were saved by a giant, talking serpent that was once her lover?”

Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Would you think I’m a fool if I did?”

“I think you’re a fool anyway,” Loki said with a small smile.

Thor shrugged. “Then it doesn’t matter, does it?”

Loki sighed, belly filled with flutters as Thor lifted their hands to brush a few soft kisses on his knuckles.

 

* * *

 

Thor burst out in laughter as Loki barged in to the hall, bundled head to toe in leathers and furs from animals Thor could not recognize.

“Never- NEVER, go to the north-”

 

* * *

 

“Needless to say, the leprechauns were very cross with me...”

 

* * *

 

The gates to the tiny kingdom swung open as he approached.

This is what “coming home” felt like, some small voice in Loki's head whispered.

Such a strange feeling still, to be welcomed somewhere, to have someone waiting for him.

And this was Thor’s twenty-fifth birthday, the one he and Thor had promised on as children. Many times Loki had worried about the this day, if he would be able to keep his end of the deal and stay. And here it was.

As he walked down the main street, the one that led straight to the majestic palace, he realized he’d never felt so sure of anything else in his strange life.

He was greeted warmly by the residents. Excitable children looked upon him like some sort of mythical creature... and given his past, perhaps it was understandable.

He’d dressed in his finest clothes for this occasion, using the left over coin he’d gathered on the last leg of his travel to get it. A fine, deep green tunic embroidered with golden thread, deep brown trousers and matching boots. The only gift he had for Thor was himself, the least he could do was wrap it nicely.

Loki made his quick procession to the front of the palace, a crowd gathering behind him, eager to hear the story Loki would tell this year first-hand.

The guards opened the doors for him, and Loki went straight for the throne.

Both of their hearts fluttered at the sight of the other.

Thor somehow seemed to glow, as though he pulled the sun’s light in to himself and diffused it, to make it in to something one could stare at and truly treasure.

He stood from his throne as Loki climbed the steps, meeting him halfway. They stood there, looking in to each others eyes, impossibly close, yet nowhere near close enough.

Thor was silent, enraptured by Loki’s eyes, waiting for him to speak.

“I found a bar full of kings,” Loki started softly, though his voice still managed to carry, somehow.

“They were all terribly boastful, bragging of their accomplishments to any that would even pretend to listen.” Loki reached up, pushing the hair away from Thor’s face, taking in the features. “It was a game to them, really, one-upping one another, showing their jewels and other finery, their ever-growing palaces and harems...”

“I had sat in the darkest corner, staying hidden for as long as I could, but I was caught when I couldn’t stop laughing,” Loki said, smirking. Thor mirrored the look on his own lovely face.

“One of them asked who I was, and what I thought was so damn funny. I told them I was just a lowly traveler, an unwanted son of no one, who had little more than my own name to me. And that king barked at me, asking again what I thought was so funny then? I had nothing compared to them. I agreed-”

Thor gave him the cutest frown at that, and it made Loki smile, reaching up to smooth the crease between his eyes.

“But I told them I did have one thing- One thing that trumped every scrape of gold and jewel they ever possessed. I had a king all of my own, the loveliest king of them all.”

Thor smiled, then. Looking so much like the boy he met so long ago.

“They tried to argue with me, but I would not budge, and they demanded I tell them what made you so great. What rare jewel did he possess? How big was his kingdom? How many riches?”

“ _No, no_ , I said, it is not the things he has that makes him so great, any king has many _things_ \- they took great offense at that, by the way - what my king has is not something you can acquire through battle or from title, it was born in him,” Loki pressed a hand to Thor’s chest, “his heart.”

Thor’s eyes sparkled, his smile soft as he stacked his hands atop Loki’s.

Loki let out a watery laugh, “they scoffed at me at first, but I went on, telling them of how beloved you are by your people, how the gold that bleeds through your skin and hair makes jewelry look hideous beside it. How the sky was captured in your eyes, how your smile could light the darkest of nights.”

“I told them of how you would have taken in this lowly traveler, unwanted son with nothing but my name, without question as soon as you found out I had no home, and how you promised to wait for me, of all the people.”

Loki laughed again, and Thor did too.

“I may have cried,” Loki confessed in a whisper. “But they finally started to listen, and I could see their faces fall, how their jewels became heavy and dull in their eyes.”

Loki went quiet, and Thor pulled him closer, so they were standing eye to eye.

“I told them of how desperately I love you, and how the only place I ever want to be again is right beside you, under our tree.”

It was only then that either remembered they had an audience of the quietly sniffling townspeople entranced by the two figures at the front of the room.

“Would you still have me, my king?”

Thor laughed as though Loki was silly for even asking, wrapping an arm around Loki’s waist and pulling Loki against him. His hand clasping the back of Loki’s neck to press their foreheads together, he answered Loki with a kiss.

The world seemed suddenly brighter, the colors richer, as though they were two peices of the same puzzle finally being fit together, hearts binding and beating together as one. They could faintly hear the roar of the crowd beside them, the air seeming to fill with their rapturous joy at finally seeing the climax to Loki’s longest going story.

The smiles they wore as they finally broke apart could mend the broken, gazes locked and glowing with their happiness.

“I had a beautiful ring for you-” Loki started to explain, voice trembling ever so slightly.

“I don’t care,” Thor laughed, “I have you.”

 

\- One Year Later -

 

The castle had seemed brighter, this past week. Like the sun had taken up residence and cast out the shadows that big, stony places seemed wont to have.

But it might just have been that all the light kept bouncing off Thor’s large, ever-present smile.

Loki had been smiling a lot as well, filled with a sense of serenity and peace. He stood at one of the windows inside (what would, today, officially be) their chambers. He looked out over the small, prosperous kingdom - which was now beginning to butt against the high stone walls that kept it insulated from the rest of the world - and considered how he might convince his soon-to-be husband that it might be time he broadened his kingdom’s horizons.

It was just then that Thor snuck up behind Loki, pressing himself against his back and gripping on to slender hips to nuzzle and kiss along the pale slope of Loki’s neck.

“We will be married in hours, can’t your wait till then to ravish me?” Loki laughed, sinking into Thor and tilting his head.

“ _Nnn_ -” Thor shook his head a little, pulling his mouth off with a wet pop. “But it is also my birthday, remember? That means ravishing can happen as we please.”

Loki chuckled, turning to face Thor and drape his arms about his broad shoulders. “I guess I cannot argue with that...”

Sif came barging in a few minutes later, just when Loki had gotten Thor’s tunic almost completely off and Thor had manage to stuff his hands in to the back Loki’s tight trousers.

“There is a very, very-” Sif jabs her finger in the air as she speaks “- _very_ large serpent at the gates saying he’s here for the wedding.”

Thor froze, slowly turning his head to look at Loki, who only looked slightly surprised at the news.

“Oh,.” He shrugs, unbothered. “Well, let him in then.”

Sif, still looking frazzled and shaken, nodded before stumbling back from where she came.

Thor kept staring at him in shock even as Loki attempted to get back to where they were moments before, and pulled back with a sigh when he realized it was useless.

“The serpent...” Thor whispered, blinking those beautiful crystal blue eyes that had bewitched Loki so many years ago, pink mouth slack in his shock. “The one that saved you from the witch?”

Something in Loki’s chest fluttered with warmth, smiling softly at his betrothed for remembering.

And then, he thought- _oh shit, the witch!_

“I should go warn the guards,” he said distractedly, prying Thor’s hands from where they were still planted firmly on his buttocks inside his trousers and dashing for the doors.

He stops and turns half-way through to ask, “you don’t happen to have any eunuchs in your guard, do you?”

Thor blinked.

“You know what? I can just deal with it, it’ll be fine-”

 

* * *

 

Thor stared out at his feasting hall in shock. Among his subjects were every one of the people and creatures from Loki’s stories. Giants loomed over the smaller crowd, affable and friendly looking despite their size, constantly watching the fall of their feet as to keep from stepping on something. The serpent sat in a coil in the corner of the room, a goblet held delicately by the spindly end of his tail, seeming all together more pleasant than Thor could have ever envisioned. A gaggle of stars sang and danced above them all, their melodic voices melding in to the music. Mermaids lounged in wheeled tanks of water, charming pirates and regular folk alike.

And the pirates- one burly captain had come up just after the toasts had been finished, and Loki’s eyes had lit with recognition. The pirate had clapped the one hand he had on Loki’s back and they had both spent minutes going back and forth about how shocked they were that the other still lived. And then the captain’s eyes had turned to Thor, nodding and greeting him with a thick accent Thor could barely make sense of. He thought he heard him say something about being the one Loki always made constant a fuss about, and when he looked to Loki, the bright flush on his cheeks confirmed his suspicions.

And then he had a couple of his companions dump a load of treasure on to the table before finally rejoining the party.

Every story was true- Thor felt it like a punch to the gut.

Thor had always wanted to believe - and _did_ , mostly - but something in his mind always held him back. They were just _too_ fantastic, surely Loki just embellished his real stories- And he hadn’t cared, he loved them, true or not.

But... they _were_ true. Undeniably true. Volstagg had a bunch of drunken leprechauns stacked on his shoulders!

With graceful fingers, Loki turned Thor’s face towards him, an indulgent smirk on his lovely face. “Guess you weren’t such a fool after all."

Thor let out a breathless laugh and shook his head as he pulled Loki close, the both of them smiling around a kiss. One of the many, many kisses they had shared that day, and the first of a lifetime's worth of more.


End file.
